Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Title: Sawkill Girls

Author: Claire Legrand

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books 2018

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 464

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Goodreads Random; Monthly Theme - October

Who are the Sawkill Girls?

Marion: The newbie. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.

Zoey: The pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is.

Val: The queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives; a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires. Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight…until now.

I was super excited to read this one based on the plot description. I loved the mystery of the monster and the Sawkill Rock. But very quickly, the identity of the monster is revealed. Okay, I can roll with that. It was kind of interesting to see the story from the perspective of the monster. And then a character is killed and I was hoping the mystery would continue. Unfortunately things devolved into a melodramatic teen romance. I just couldn’t get over Marion’s weak character. At the end of the book, I was just meh about everything. Not my cup of tea.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dark Desires by Eve Silver

Title: Dark Desires (Dark Gothic #1)

Author: Eve Silver

Publisher: Eve Silver 2013

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 318

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Goodreads Random

Betrayed by those she trusted, penniless and alone, Darcie Finch is forced to accept a position that no one else dares, as assistant to dangerously attractive Dr. Damien Cole. Ignoring the whispered warnings and rumours that he's a man to fear, she takes her position at his eerie estate where she quickly discovers that nothing is at it seems, least of all her handsome and brooding employer. As Darcie struggles with her fierce attraction to Damien, she must also deal with the blood, the disappearances … and the murders.

With her options dwindling and time running out, Darcie must rely on her instincts as she confronts the man she is falling in love with. Is he an innocent and misunderstood man … or a remorseless killer who prowls the East End streets?

I sped through this novel quickly. It was one of those random cheap Kindle deals that I picked up somewhere along the way. I thought it would be a fun supernatural romance. I really wanted some good fun supernatural occurrences, a great relationship, and some steamy scenes. By the time I had gotten tot he end of the book, i was just pretty disappointed. Their relationship between Darcie and Damien was nonexistent. I couldn’t see any reason why these two were together. I get Darcie’s motivations a bit, but Damien is a complete mystery. I never figured out why he loved Darcie. There just didn’t seem like anything to build a relationship. And I was disappointed that there wasn’t any real supernatural occurrences. Not really impressed.

Dark Gothic

• #1 Dark Desires

• #2 His Dark Kiss

• #3 Dark Prince

• #4 His Wicked Sins

• #5 Seduced by a Stranger

• #6 Dark Embrace

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Ship of Dreams by Gareth Russell

Title: The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era

Author: Gareth Russell

Publisher: Atria 2019

Genre: Nonfiction - History

Pages: 448

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: GR Random

In April 1912, six notable people were among those privileged to experience the height of luxury—first class passage on “the ship of dreams,” the RMS Titanic: Lucy Leslie, Countess of Rothes; son of the British Empire, Tommy Andrews; American captain of industry John Thayer and his son Jack; Jewish-American immigrant Ida Straus; and American model and movie star Dorothy Gibson. Within a week of setting sail, they were all caught up in the horrifying disaster of the Titanic’s sinking, one of the biggest news stories of the century. Today, we can see their stories and the Titanic’s voyage as the beginning of the end of the established hierarchy of the Edwardian era.

Writing in his elegant signature prose and using previously unpublished sources, deck plans, journal entries, and surviving artifacts, Gareth Russell peers through the portholes of these first-class travelers to immerse us in a time of unprecedented change in British and American history. Through their intertwining lives, he examines social, technological, political, and economic forces such as the nuances of the British class system, the explosion of competition in the shipping trade, the birth of the movie industry, the Irish Home Rule Crisis, and the Jewish-American immigrant experience while also recounting their intimate stories of bravery, tragedy, and selflessness.

Overall I was very disappointed by this book. I wanted a strong look at the events leading to the end of the Edwardian Era. Instead, I got a very convoluted narrative without a clear and concise voice. Often I got bogged down in the plethora of details. Not impressed at all.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Title: Dread Nation (Dread Nation #1)

Author: Justine Ireland

Publisher: Balzer + Bray 2018

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 418

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: GR Random; Monthly Theme

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—derailing the War Between the States and changing the nation forever.

In this new America, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Education Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead.

But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It's a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose.

But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. 

And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.

Oh my goodness! This was a thrilling ride! I immediately starting rooting for Jane, but know bad things were going to happen to her (that’s how zombie books go). I loved starting at Miss Preston’s school before venturing out into the world outside. I loved the world Ireland creates. I’m a sucker for good alternative history. This world is a horrible yet fascinating one. I was fully invested in the characters and the story. Like Jane, I needed to see what was really going on in Baltimore and in Summerland. Even Katherine grew on me and I daresay, I actually like her now! I can’t wait to read the second book and find out who made it out of Summerland (fingers crossed for Gideon) and who our characters have still yet to meet.

Dread Nation

• #1 Dread Nation

• #2 Deathless Divide

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe

Title: The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs

Author: Katherine Howe

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. 2019

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 338

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; GR Random June

Connie Goodwin is an expert on America’s fractured past with witchcraft. A young, tenure-track professor in Boston, she’s earned career success by studying the history of magic in colonial America—especially women’s home recipes and medicines—and by exposing society's threats against women fluent in those skills. But beyond her studies, Connie harbors a secret: She is the direct descendant of a woman tried as a witch in Salem, an ancestor whose abilities were far more magical than the historical record shows.

When a hint from her mother and clues from her research lead Connie to the shocking realization that her partner’s life is in danger, she must race to solve the mystery behind a hundreds’-years-long deadly curse.

This volume continues Connie story and her discovery of her ancestors. I enjoyed the book, but felt like the modern sections dragged a bit. I wanted to speed up the storyline for those chapters. I also got annoyed with Connie on multiple occasions for not telling people the truth. The historical chapters were much more interesting. I almost wanted a whole book of just those chapters. I would have loved to read about each of the women through history. Very well researched book featuring stories and characters from early America.

The Physick Book

• #1 The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

• #2 The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Title: The Secret Life of Bees

Author: Sue Monk Kidd

Publisher: Penguin Books 2003

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 352

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - Top 100 YA, 21st Century Women Authors, Rory Gilmore; Goodreads Random

Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sister, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

A really beautiful coming-of-age story set in a fraught time period and place. I was rooting for Lily to find her place int he world away from her father and the ignorant perspectives of many in her community. I loved meeting the sisters and learning about beekeeping and their particular brand of religion. Many of the sequences feel very dreamlike. Almost like the opening scenes of Lily watching the bees swarm in her room. My only quibble with the book is the format. At times, the constant flashbacks muddled the prose. Transitions were not the best. Overall this was a lovely atmospheric book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Planetfall by Emma Newman

Title: Planetfall (Planetfall #1)

Author: Emma Newman

Publisher: ROC 2015

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 320

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; Goodreads Random - April

Renata Ghali believed in Lee Suh-Mi’s vision of a world far beyond Earth, calling to humanity. A planet promising to reveal the truth about our place in the cosmos, untainted by overpopulation, pollution, and war. Ren believed in that vision enough to give up everything to follow Suh-Mi into the unknown.

More than twenty-two years have passed since Ren and the rest of the faithful braved the starry abyss and established a colony at the base of an enigmatic alien structure where Suh-Mi has since resided, alone. All that time, Ren has worked hard as the colony's 3-D printer engineer, creating the tools necessary for human survival in an alien environment, and harboring a devastating secret.

Ren continues to perpetuate the lie forming the foundation of the colony for the good of her fellow colonists, despite the personal cost. Then a stranger appears, far too young to have been part of the first planetfall, a man who bears a remarkable resemblance to Suh-Mi.

The truth Ren has concealed since planetfall can no longer be hidden. And its revelation might tear the colony apart...

After ranting and raving to my husband for the better part of a half hour, I decided to give this book 2 stars. I do not think that this is a good book. There are so many storylines, plot threads that get muddled and ultimately lead no where. They bring up the potential parasite in the newcomer’s stomach, but no one seem really interested or concerned. There are allusions to the tragedy that was unfolding on Earth, but no follow up. Ren’s “disorder” is thrown into the mix at the height of the conflict, but no real discussion or resolution. Religion comes up again and again but seemingly only in passing with no real focus. The entirety of their journey to the new planet and any technology used is glossed over. The book ended up being a mix of about 6 Star Trek episodes with no real follow-through or conclusions. I will not be reading the rest of the series.

Planetfall

• #1 Planetfall

• #2 After Atlas

• #3 Before Mars

• #4 Atlas Alone

Next up on the TBR pile: